Trolley



B. F. FITCH.

TROLLEY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1919.

2 SHEETSSHEET 1.

INVENTOR.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.

A TTORNEYJ B. F. FITCH.

TROLLEY.

APPLICATION FILED MAY 16, 1919.

Patented Aug. 24, 1920.-

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

INVENTOR. flak A 19m 91/6 fl x k,

A TTORNEYJ.

UITED, STATES PATENT OFFICE.

BENJAMIN F. FITCH, F EVANSTON, ILLINOIS, ASSIGNOR TO MOTOR TERMINALS COMPANY, OF WILMINGTON, DELAWARE, CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

TROLLEY.

Specification of Letters Patent. Patented. Aug. 24., 1920.

Application filed May 16, 1919. Serial No. 297,460.

To all whom 2'25 may concern:

Be it known that I, BENJAMIN F. FITCH, a citizen of the United States, residin at Evanston, in the county of Cook and tate of Illinois, have invented a certain new and useful Improvement in Trolleys, of which the following is a full, clear, and exact description, reference being had to the accompanying drawings.

In the utilization of trolley hoists adapt- 7 ed to travel on the lower flange of an I-beam or similar overhead trackway, it is desirable to provide for diiferent widths of web and flange of the trackway, since such dimensions vary with the vertical depth of the beam which must vary with its length to provide an eflicient'support. It is the object of this invention to provide very simple means for laterally adjusting supporting wheels and driving mechanism of a trolley hoist to enable its use on trackways having different lateral dimensions The invention comprises the means for accomplishing this. It is illustrated in the drawings hereof, and hereinafter more fully explained.

In the drawings, Figure 1 is an end ele vation of a trolley hoist equipped with my adjusting mechanism; Fig. 2 is an enlarged section through the axis of one of the supporting Wheels; Fig. 3 is an enlarged section throu h the axis of one of the driving pinions; ig. 4 is an elevation at right angles to Fig. 1 of the hoisting mechanism there shown; Fig. 5 is a side elevation of a trolley which may be provided with my adjustment.

As shown in the drawings, A indicates a suitable I-beam ha ing laterally extending bottom flanges a. on which the trolley wheels ride. The I-beam is shown as a single integral rolled member, though it' ing the interior of the opening through the boss. On the inner side of this enlarged portion, the stud is reduced and threaded as shown at 17 and is similarly formedon the other side as shown at 18. Nuts 20 and 21 screw onto these reduced threaded portions and abut the edges of the boss 15. Accordingly I may adjust the stud in or out. The stud has a shoulder 19 beyond which is a reduced portion 24 on which the wheel 13 rides. A nut 25 screws onto the extreme end portion of the stud within a cavity 14 in the Wheel. It will be seen that the construction just described enables the wheel to be adjusted in or out for a different width of trackway flange. The construction has been described with particular reference to Figs. 1 and 2, but the same construction may be applied to the simple trolley as shown in Fig. 5. In this case the web 11 is the upwardly-extending portion of the U-shaped bracket, the horizontal or bottom part 28 of which carries a suitable swivel hook 29. In the construction of Fig. 5 there being no means to propel the truck, all gearing to the wheels 13 is omitted.

In the construction of Figs. 1 to 4 inclusive, each of the wheels 13 has rigidly formed thereon a driving gear 30. These two gears 30 mesh with two pinions 31 suitably supported on an axis extending beneath the trackway and adapted to be rotated by the hoist mechanism. The hoist mechanism, will of course, vary with different installations. I have indicated a motor 35, the armature of which is connected with a shaft 36 surrounded by a sheave 37 which carries the pinions 31. The shaft and sleeve extend into a suitable gear casing 38 at the opposite side of the structure in which reduction gearing may be placed connecting the shaft with the sleeve. By way of illustration I have shown a pinion 40 on the shaft meshing with a gear 41 on a lay shaft 42, this shaft carrying a pinion 43 meshing with a gear 44 on the sleeve 37.

As the adjustment of the wheels 13 carries their gears 30 to difierent positions, I correspondingly adjustthe pinions 31-that is to say these pinions are longitudinally slidable on the sleeve 37 being key way splined to it and they are adjusted in position laterally by nuts and 51 screwing onto the sleeve on opposite sides of the pinion. Accordingly to effect the adjustment the nuts 50 and 51 are varied according to the change of position of the nuts 20 and 21,

thus spreading or contracting the throat of the trolley structure according to the trackway provided for it.

Figs. 1 and 4 illustrate also a hoisting 5 mechanism carried by the trolley. This mechanism is on a suitable intermediate suspended frame portion 60 and may comprise a motor in a housing 61 at one side and gear reduction in a housing 62 at the other side, the construction being similar, for example, to that described for the trolleying mechanism. Intermediately the hoisting mechanism has a suitable raising sheave over which extends a cable 63 shown as carrying a movable pulley 64.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is:

1. The combination of a trolley frame adapted to extend beneath and on the opposite sides of an overhead trackway, laterally adjustable studs carried by the frame, wheels on said studs adapted to engage the trackway, said wheels having gears rigid with them, a rotary driving member beneath the trackway, and means on said driving member meshing with the gears.

2. The combination of a trolley frame having upwardly extending portions with openings through them, studs occupying said openings and extending on each side thereof, said studs having intermediate bearing portions in the openings and beingthreaded on each side of the openings, nuts screwing on the studs and jamming against the opposite sidesof the frame portion, and 31 wheels journaled on the inner ends of the studs.

3. The combination of a trolley frame adapted to extend beneath and on the opposite sides of an overhead trackway, laterally adjustable studs carried by the frame, wheels on said studs adapted to engage the trackway, said wheels having gears rigid with them, a rotary driving member beneath the trackway, pinions on said driving memher meshing with the gears, and means for adjusting the pinions laterally.

4. The combination -of a trolley frame havin upwardly extending portions, studs extending through such upwardly extending portions and having screw threads, nuts screwing onto the threads on opposite sides of the upwardly extending portions to ad-' just the positions of the portions laterally, wheels on said studs each provided with a gear, a rotary driving gear mounted in the trolley frame beneath the trackway, pinions on the driving member meshing with the gears, and nuts screwing onto the driving member for adjusting the position of the pinions laterally.

In testimony whereof, I hereunto afiix my signature.

- .BENJA MIN F. FITCH. 

